The Palestinian Authority makes no attempt to educate its people towards peace and coexistence with Israel. On the contrary, from every possible platform it repeatedly rejects Israel's right to exist, presents the conflict as a religious battle for Islam, depicts the establishment of Israel as an act of imperialism, and perpetuates a picture of the Middle East, both verbally and visually, in which Israel does not exist at all. Israel's destruction is said to be both inevitable and a Palestinian obligation.

The following description of Israel's founding in a Palestinian schoolbook represents the dominant dogma about Israel:

"Palestine’s war ended with a catastrophe that is unprecedented in history, when the Zionist gangs stole Palestine … and established the so-called State of Israel."
[Arabic Language, Analysis, Literature and Criticism, grade 12, p. 104]

This official PA map of "Palestine” was broadcast on PA TV in September 2011. The map includes both the PA areas and all of Israel (excluding the Golan Heights) wrapped in the Palestinian flag - a symbol of Palestinian sovereignty over the whole area - and has a key through it, symbolizing ownership. Similar maps presenting all of Israel as "Palestine" appear in Palestinian schoolbooks and are shown regularly on PA TV.

Denying Israel's right to exist

The Palestinian Authority adamantly rejects Israel’s right to exist and rewrites history to deny the 3,000-year-old connection of Jews to the Land Israel. [See "Rewriting History" section.] The essential message of the PA to its people is that Jews have no historical connection to the land, and that the State of Israel was created by the colonial powers for two reasons: to rid their countries of Jews, and to establish a colonial bridgehead in order to control the region. One particularly horrific expression of this ideology appeared in the official PA daily as far back as 1998:

“The difference between Hitler and [British Foreign Minister] Balfour was simple: the former [Hitler] did not have colonies to send the Jews to, so he destroyed them, whereas Balfour ...[turned] Palestine into his colony and sent the Jews. Balfour is Hitler with colonies, while Hitler is Balfour without colonies. They both wanted to get rid of the Jews...Zionism was crucial to the defense of the West, [by] ridding Europe of the burden of the Jews.”

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 6, 1998]

This video of Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon, Abbas Zaki, shows how this distortion continues to be expressed:

"We must understand why Israel was established … [The Europeans] wanted to get rid of the Jews. … At that same time, energy [oil] was discovered in the Arab region … Then, they solved the [Jewish] problem by exporting [the Jews] to Israel [and at same time] they imposed their hegemony on the region’s natural resources. The [purpose of the] State of Israel is not for the Jews but it is an ongoing [colonial] project, an outpost for Imperialism.”

Official PA TV host: “A thousand blessings to all our viewers, from wherever you are watching us from all ends of Palestine, from Sasa (i.e., an Arab village in the Galilee that was destroyed in the Israeli War of Independence, not the northernmost point in Israel) to Umm Al-Rashrash (i.e., Eilat, the southernmost Israeli city).”

Headline: “Al-Habbash briefs Portuguese Parliament members and solidarity activists on the developments in the Palestinian arena”

“Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash yesterday [May 20, 2017] briefed Portuguese Parliament members and members of the Parliamentary Committee for Portuguese-Palestinian Friendship… on the developments in the Palestinian arena, especially on all that is related to the prisoners’ [hunger] strike.
During the meeting, which was held in the Portuguese Parliament building in the capital city Lisbon, Al-Habbash said: ‘The Palestinian people has been suffering from injustice and aggression since approximately 100 years ago, when the ominous Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration) was issued by the British Mandate authorities. [It also has been suffering] from the crimes that embarrass the human conscience which came as a result of this crime, when the Palestinians were uprooted from their homes, their villages and cities were destroyed and erased, and in their place the occupation state arose. Disasters have befallen them one after the other, while the world is silent and stands aloof, and its conscience is in a deep coma.’”

The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that “His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and is seen as the basis for later international commitments to establish the State of Israel.

Headline: “Al-Agha in a letter to the UN Secretary-General: The Nakba is the crime of the era”
“PLO Executive Committee member and President of the [PLO] Supreme National Committee to Commemorate Nakba Day (i.e., “the catastrophe,” Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) Zakariya Al-Agha described the Nakba as ‘the crime of the century.’ Al-Agha said this yesterday [May 15, 2017], Nakba Day, in a letter he gave together with members of the Committee to Mark Nakba Day to UN Secretary-General António Guterres via Head of the UN Office in Gaza Gernot Sauer.
Al-Agha said in the letter that the painful consequences of the Nakba that befell our people continue to this day. This is so because the occupation government opposes the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homes, despite the decisions published by the UN that order their return to their homes from which they were expelled in 1948 (i.e., UN Resolution 194, see note below)… Al-Agha emphasized that the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homes from which they were expelled is a holy historical and legal right, and an individual right that is anchored in international law and the decisions of the international bodies.”
Click "full article" for more information

Headline: “Laila Jamal – We have grown older and our longings have grown stronger”
“?Sixty-nine years have passed since the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” the Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) and nothing has changed for us but our age and the longings which have increased. We long for the sun’s rays reflecting from the sea of Acre on its walls, and for the scent of the land.’ This is what 80-year-old Laila Jamal from occupied Acre said.”

Headline: "Nablus: Marking the anniversary of the Nakba by remembering the [hunger] striking prisoners"

"Residents of Nablus yesterday, Monday [May 15, 2017] marked the 69th anniversary of the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) of the Palestinian people and its uprooting from its land in 1948.
Fatah Movement Central Committee member [and Fatah Deputy Chairman] Mahmoud Al-Aloul and Nablus District Governor Akram Al-Rajoub participated in the ceremony to mark Nakba Day in the center of Nablus…
Al-Aloul said: 'The Nakba event is a memorial day for the greatest crime in history against the Palestinians and the plot woven by a number of parties in order to occupy our land and expel us from it. This is the land of the holy sites, and we will not concede our cause and our struggle to realize the goal of the Palestinian people to return to its homes.'
He added: 'We guard the keys of return and will pass the idea from generation to generation in order to protect the right to adhere to return.’"

Palestinians commemorate Nakba Day on May 15, the day after Israeli Independence Day. On May 15, 1948, combined forces from Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq joined Palestinian Arab forces in an attempt to eradicate the newly-established State of Israel. The Nakba (i.e. "the catastrophe) refers to the displacement of Palestinians that occurred as a result of this Arab war of aggression against Israel.

Headline: "Abu Samhadana: The right of return is holy and no statute of limitations will apply to it"

"Fatah Movement [Gaza] Leadership Council member Abdallah Abu Samhadana emphasized that the right of return is a holy right to which no statute of limitations will apply, and that the Palestinians everywhere they are located still dream of the return. He emphasized that it will definitely happen and that the land will return to its owners…
Abu Samhadana said in a statement that reached [the independent Palestinian news agency] Ma'an: ‘Sixty-nine years [have passed] and the occupation's gamble that the adults would die and the young would forget has been proven false by the generations, who are still bequeathing the guardianship of this right from generation to generation. These generations prove that a right, which has someone who demands it, will never be lost, and the right of return will continue to be one of the pillars of the Palestinian cause and the national enterprise."

Official PA TV broadcast for Nakba Day, showing the Nakba Day ceremony in Ramallah

Official PA TV broadcast for Nakba Day, showing the Nakba Day ceremony in Ramallah
General Coordinator of PLO's National Committee for Commemorating Nakba Day, Muhammad Alyan: "We want to say regarding what happened in 1948: No matter how great the losses and sacrifices may be, we will not relinquish one grain of sand from Jaffa, Haifa, Lod, or Ramle (i.e., all Israeli cities). Let this occupation do what it wants., We are staying here, rooted like the olive tree, fighting, and defending [the homeland]."Click to view bulletinClick to view video

Source:
Official PA radio station The Voice of Palestine, May 15, 2017

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: "Ninety-nine years have passed since the ominous Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration). The unfair [promise]. However, we will not turn the lie (i.e., Israel being the ancient Jewish homeland) into an accepted truth. Our people’s right to its homeland is permanent and authentic. It does not expire, not even if historical facts are falsified. Palestine will remain despite the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” establishment of the State of Israel in 1948), the Naksa (i.e., "the setback," Israel's victory in the Six Day War in 1967), and the suffering which has continued for decades. We will never raise the white flag. [Our flag] will continue to be composed of the four colors."

The rest of Abbas' speech (not broadcast on PA radio) criticizing Britain for issuing the Balfour Declaration: “You gave what is not yours to one who has no right”
Abbas: "We say to those who gave this promise: ‘‘You [Britain] gave what is not yours to one [the Jewish people] who has no right to it.’’ Many have wondered: Why are we talking about it now? We said that the right does not expire, that the right does not age. Even after 100, 200, 1,000 [years], the right will remain alive. It will remain our obligation to defend our right. Balfour, who gave you the right to sell our land? And to tell people [the Jews]: ‘‘This is a homeland for you [the Jews].’’? ... Give them [a state] in Britain, man, in Scotland, or at least in Ireland. Why in Palestine? He gave [Jews land] in Palestine and that became their right. No! Britain must first acknowledge that it made a mistake regarding our right.

Source:
Official PA radio station The Voice of Palestine, May 14, 2017

The Voice of Palestine, the official PA radio station, song in honor of Nakba Day

Song lyrics:
“Since 1948 we have been sentenced to be subjected to the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel),
Palestine will never be insignificant,
Our enemies will never have rest and quiet.”

Nakba Day Palestinians commemorate Nakba Day on May 15, the day after the establishment of Israel. On May 15, 1948, combined forces from Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq joined local Arab forces in an attempt to eradicate the newly established State of Israel. The Nakba (Arabic = catastrophe) refers to the establishment of Israel, and the subsequent loss of the war, including the killing and displacement of Arab civilians that occurred during the war.

Image posted in the official PA daily, from a protest in Tulkarem in support of the prisoners’ hunger strike that began on April 17, 2017

Text on sign in image: “The ominous Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration) was the beginning of our people’s Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” the Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel).
The Department for Refugees’ Affairs – the Supreme National Committee to Mark Nakba Day”

The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that “His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and is seen as the basis for later international commitments to establish the State of Israel.

“The Jenin district yesterday [May 1, 2017] continued the events of solidarity with the prisoners who are hunger striking for this the 16th consecutive day.
Delegations of relatives of the prisoners and people and institutions of the city of Jenin and from within the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel), who expressed their support and standing alongside the prisoner members of their people, have visited since the morning hours.”

Headline: “The Association of Workers Unions of Palestine marks May 1 (i. e., International Workers’ Day)”
“It should be noted that members and activists of the Palestinian workers unions and associations in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel), participated in their masses in the demonstrations and sit-in strikes that have been held as a sign of solidarity with the prisoners since the prisoners began their hunger strike on April 17 [2017].”

Headline: “Despite the loss of sight, Kifah and Hanan amaze by knitting colors and decorations”
“Kifah and Hanan are from a family of poor means that today lives in the village of Al-Dik in the Salfit district, after moving there from the village of Majdal Al-Sadiq in the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel) due to the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel).”

Source:
Official PA radio station The Voice of Palestine, Apr. 29, 2017

The Voice of Palestine, the official PA radio station, song in honor of Nakba Day

Lyrics: “My land was green and covered in a green garment,
It never knew sadness,
But after what happened everything changed to bitterness,
After they [the Jews] walked [on it] with their feet, the singing turned into sadness.
O Lod, Haifa, and Ramle (i.e., Israeli cities), my land and not the land of the Jews,
In a moment it became occupied.”Click to view video

“Karim Yusuf Fadl Younes from the village of ‘Ara in the north of the Triangle (i.e., a concentration of Israeli-Arab towns and villages in northern Israel) in the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel) is now 58, and he has spent 35 years of his life in the Israeli prisons.”Karim Younes - an Israeli Arab serving a 40-year sentence for kidnapping and murdering Israeli soldier Avraham Bromberg in 1980 together with his cousin Maher Younes. Originally sentenced to life in prison, but Israeli President Shimon Peres reduced his sentence in 2012.

Headline: “Britain refuses to apologize for the Balfour Promise, and the [PA] president will put it on trial”
“Britain has refused to submit an apology for the Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration) that was issued in 1917 and paved the way for the establishment of the State of Israel.
[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas demanded that Britain officially apologize to the Palestinian people for this promise in a speech that he gave before the UN General Assembly in September [2016], but Britain is intending to hold celebrations together with senior Israeli officials for the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Promise on Nov. 2 [2017].
Palestinian Ambassador to Britain Manuel Hassassian told [the official PA] radio [station] The Voice of Palestine that… ‘Steps will be taken to put Britain on trial for the Balfour Promise, and there are lawyers working on the matter in Britain. The position of the president is clear, and he will not retreat from it until Britain apologizes to the Palestinian people and recognizes the State of Palestine.’”
The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that “His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and is seen as the basis for later international commitments to establish the State of Israel.

Headline: “The [PA] Civil Defense succeeded in preventing the burning of 500 cars at the Al-Dhahiriya Crossing"
“The teams prevented the fire from spreading to the other nearby cars, whose number was estimated at 500 cars, all belonging to Palestinian laborers working within the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel).”

Official PA TV News, interview with Fatah Central Committee member and Commissioner of Mobilization and Organization in the West Bank Jamal Muhaisen, on the hunger strike by terrorist prisoners that began on April 17, 2017.

Fatah Central Committee member and Commissioner of Mobilization and Organization in the West Bank Jamal Muhaisen: "They [the prisoners] are taken captive in the PA areas, which violates international law, and they are generally transferred to prisons in the areas occupied since 1948 - what is called ‘Israel’ in quotation marks, and this also opposes international law."Click to view video

Headline: “The Israeli bulldozers destroyed a home in the village of Al-Sayyid in the Negev”
“Yesterday, Thursday [April 20, 2017], under the protection of the police and special forces, the bulldozers of the Israeli occupation authorities destroyed a home in the village of Al-Sayyid in the Al-Kasom region of the Negev, inside the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel).”

Headline: “A man was killed and two were wounded in an altercation in Lod”
“Last night [April 20, 2017] young Muhammad Azbarga, 25, was killed, another man was moderately wounded, and an elderly woman was wounded in her upper body in a shooting that took place in Lod, which is inside the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel).”